Schooling Dilemma

Schooling Dilemma

We are facing a dilemma when it comes to the girl’s school. Paytyn will be going into the 9th grade (I can’t believe it either!). The school she is going to will continue for one more year, but will not continue after that. Most of her classmates are going to boarding school at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. This is about a 10-12 hour drive away with a border crossing. We would only get to see her for a short bit every 6 weeks. We just aren’t prepared to send her away at this age!

We could send her to the same school she is going to for one more year, but then would be forced to do something different for grade 10. We really want her to do all of her high school education at the same place so she doesn’t have to start over with anything else. This means we really need to find a new option for Paytyn. This also means that we need to find a new option for Morgan as well, because if she continued at Kilombera, we would have three kids in three different schools since Kilombera doesn’t have Olivia’s grade level.

The options we settled on with pros and cons are:

Sending Paytyn to Rift Valley Academy and Morgan would continue at Kilombera for another year. Pros are that she would get a world class education and get to be with her friends. Cons are that it is 12 hours away, in another country, we would not get to see her very often, and it is expensive ($2,500 more per year/student) since it is a boarding school.

Sending them to Horizon International School. Pros are that is is a good education option and is local. Cons are that it is a very expensive option ($3,300 more per year/student) and it is run by Turkish investors so it is not a Christian school.

Sending them to an international school in Kampala. Pros are that it is a really good educational option and is in the same country as us. Cons are that it is the most expensive option and we would have to board them.

Doing on online, teacher-led homeschool at NorthStar Academy in Mississippi. Pros are that it is an excellent schooling option and rated the #1 online homeschool option in the US, kids attend this school from all over the world, it is a Christian school, we get to keep the girls home, we get to be heavily involved in their education, and it is the cheapest of the options ($2,000 more per year/student).

We have decided to go with the online, teacher-led homeschool option. This means we will need about $4,000 more per year to educate our kids or about $350/month. Paytyn is moving up to high school and Morgan is moving to middle school, so costs of education would go up regardless. We feel that them getting an education at a place that will allow them to move directly into university when they graduate will give them the best option for the future. We don’t want our calling to the mission field to cause our children to sacrifice their education. They haven’t had to sacrifice their education thus far since they received an excellent education at Kilombera, and we don’t want that to stop.

This does mean we need to raise additional support to cover the increase in education costs. We need about $350 per month in additional support. That is 7 new or increased supports at $50/month, 14 at $25/month or 35 at $10/month. If you have never supported our ministry, would you please pray about supporting us? If you are currently supporting us, would you consider increasing your support? You can support us in multiple ways including drafting from your checking account, mailing a check to our US mailbox, or even Paypal. Learn more here: www.heartforuganda.com/donate/

I’ve included some information about NorthStar Academy below in case you are interested.

NorthStar Academy (NSA) is an online, private, Christian school that currently offers students in grades 4-12 a complete academic and diploma-granting program. NorthStar Academy is founded on the belief that online education should be facilitated by godly teachers who are dedicated to providing an excellent education through sound curriculum in partnership with students, families, and schools worldwide. Academic and spiritual readiness is achieved through faith-based, student-centered courses led by credentialed teachers who challenge students through engaging, standards-based content.